Germanate Ion
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In chemistry, germanate is a compound containing an oxyanion of
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors s ...
. In the naming of inorganic compounds it is a suffix that indicates a polyatomic anion with a central germanium atom, for example potassium hexafluorogermanate, K2GeF6.Egon Wiberg, Arnold Frederick Holleman (2001) ''Inorganic Chemistry'', Elsevier


Germanate oxy compounds

Germanium is similar to silicon forming many compounds with tetrahedral units although it can also exhibit 5 and 6 coordination. Analogues of all the major types of
silicate In chemistry, a silicate is any member of a family of polyatomic anions consisting of silicon and oxygen, usually with the general formula , where . The family includes orthosilicate (), metasilicate (), and pyrosilicate (, ). The name is al ...
s and aluminosilicates have been prepared. For example, the compounds Mg2GeO4 (
olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...
and
spinel Spinel () is the magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula in the cubic crystal system. Its name comes from the Latin word , which means ''spine'' in reference to its pointed crystals. Properties S ...
forms), CaGeO3(
perovskite structure A perovskite is any material with a crystal structure following the formula ABX3, which was first discovered as the mineral called perovskite, which consists of calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). The mineral was first discovered in the Ural mou ...
), Be2GeO4 (
phenakite Phenakite or phenacite is a fairly rare nesosilicate mineral consisting of beryllium orthosilicate, Be2 Si O4. Occasionally used as a gemstone, phenakite occurs as isolated crystals, which are rhombohedral with parallel-faced hemihedrism, and are ...
structure) show the resemblance to the silicates.Encyclopedia of alkaline earth compounds R.C Ropp, Elsevier 2013 BaGe4O9 has a complex structure containing 4 and 6 coordinate germanium. Germanates are important for geoscience as they possess similar structures to silicates and can be used as analogues for studying the behaviour of silicate minerals found in the Earth's
mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
; for example, MnGeO3 has a
pyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated to ''Px'') are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe II) ...
type structure similar to that of MgSiO3 which is a significant mineral in the mantle.


Germanates in aqueous solutions

The
alkali metal The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K),The symbols Na and K for sodium and potassium are derived from their Latin names, ''natrium'' and ''kalium''; these are still the origins of the names ...
orthogermanates, M4GeO4, containing discrete ions, form acidic solutions containing , and Ge(OH)4)8(OH)3sup>3−. Neutral solutions of germanium dioxide contain Ge(OH)4, but at high pH germanate ions such as , are present.


Germanate zeolites

Microporous germanate
zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ・y where is either a metal ion or H+. These pos ...
s were first prepared in the 1990s. A common method of preparation is
hydrothermal synthesis Hydrothermal synthesis includes the various techniques of crystallizing substances from high-temperature aqueous solutions at high vapor pressures; also termed "hydrothermal method". The term "hydrothermal" is of geologic origin. Geochemists an ...
using an organic
amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituen ...
as a template (structure determining agent).Zeolites and Related Materials: Trends Targets and Challenges(SET), 1st Edition, 4th International FEZA Conference, 2008, Paris, France; Eds. Gedeon, Massiani, Babonneau; Elsevier Science; The frameworks are negatively charged due to extra
oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
ions which leads to higher coordination numbers for germanium of 5 and 6. The negative charge is balanced by the positively charged amine molecules. In addition to the ability of germanium to exhibit 4, 5 or 6 coordination, the greater length of the Ge–O bond in the tetrahedral unit compared to Si–O in and the narrower Ge–O–Ge angle (130°–140°) between corner shared tetrahedra allow for unusual framework structures. A zeolite reported in 2005 has large pores – interconnected by channels defined by 30-membered rings (the naturally occurring
zeolite Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ・y where is either a metal ion or H+. These pos ...
faujasite Faujasite (FAU-type zeolite) is a mineral group in the zeolite family of silicate minerals. The group consists of faujasite-Na, faujasite-Mg and faujasite-Ca. They all share the same basic formula by varying the amounts of sodium, magnesium and ...
with channels defined by 12-membered ringsHandbook Of Molecular Sieves: Structures, Rosemarie Szostak, 1992, Van Nostrand Reinhold, , ). Zeolites with frameworks containing silicon and germanium (silicogermanates), aluminium and germanium (aluminogermanates) and zirconium and germanium (zirconogermanates) are all known.


See also

*
Bismuth germanate Bismuth germanium oxide or bismuth germanate is an inorganic chemical compound of bismuth, germanium and oxygen. Most commonly the term refers to the compound with chemical formula (BGO), with the cubic evlitine crystal structure, used as a sci ...
(bismuth germanium oxide, BGO) *
Sodium germanate Sodium germanate is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2GeO3. It is a colorless solid. Sodium germanate is primarily used for the synthesis of other germanium compounds. Preparation and reactions Sodium germanate can be prepared by the fus ...


References

{{Authority control Oxyanions Oxometallates